Social media users are falsely claiming that 50% of Ottawa’s police department has handed in their resignation and that the Canadian Armed forces are vowing allegiance to the people.
The posts refer to the “Freedom convoy”, which began at the end of January, to protest against Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his COVID-19 vaccine mandates (here).
Examples of the false claims can be seen (here) and (here).
The text in one post reads: “Reports that 50% of @OttawaPolice have tendered their resignation and Canadian Armed forces reportedly vow allegiance to the people.”
The claims originated from a video posted by Pat King, who has spread COVID-19 related misinformation in the past, as explained (here), (here), (here).
Reuters found no credible news reports saying 50% of the Ottawa police had handed in their resignation.
Constable Amy Gagnon, a media relations representative for the Ottawa Police Service, confirmed to Reuters via email that the claim is false.
“No Ottawa police officers have resigned,” Gagnon said. “All available police officers have been working since Friday February 4th.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Feb. 1 that the Canadian government will not use troops against truckers whose nearly week-long protest of coronavirus vaccine mandates has brought traffic in central Ottawa to a halt (here).
"There is no question of sending in the army," the prime minister said on Thursday (here).
Anita Anand, minister of national defence, also said in a Feb. 3 tweet (here “The @CanadianForces are not a police force. As such, there are no plans for the Canadian Armed Forces to be involved in the current situation in Ottawa in a law-enforcement capacity.”
The Canadian Department of National Defence told Reuters they “have not made any such comment.”
VERDICT
False. Half of Ottawa’s police department has not handed in their resignation in relation to the vaccine mandate protests, according to the Ottawa Police Service. There is no evidence that the Canadian Armed Forces are involved in dealing with the convoy.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work here .
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.